Venture
by The Dark Knight's Revenge
Summary: Susan goes to retrieve a mysterious object from Cair Paraval to aid the Narnians in battle, intending to go alone. What happens when CAspian insists on accompanying her? Will they get back in time, or will they return to find everything destroyed?
1. Chapter 1

Susan threw some clothes in her saddle bag, followed closely by some light provisions and extra weapons.

It was only days before a battle, you could smell it in the air. That's why she had to leave.

Susan was going to go to Cair Paraval, the only safe place left undisturbed in Narnia. It was so destroyed that the telmarines no longer went near it.

Plus, there was an object she wanted to get that she was sure had been left in the armory.

The legendary sword of Aslan, sister sword to the one Peter had. It was rumored to be undefeated, and the only way to find it was through a passage in the treasury at Cair Paraval.

She grabbed the saddle bag and ran for the stables. No one could know that she was leaving.

Quickly, she bridled her horse, not bothering with the saddle, it would weigh them down and she could live without it.

She was about to swing up on the horse when her hand was grasped from behind.

Whirling in shock, she was met with Caspian's worried face.

"Milady?"

Susan bit her lip. How had he found her? Did the others know?

"Yes?" Caspian's brow furrowed.

"What are you doing? You can't leave the meadow, the scouts are still there" Susan ignored him and turned back to her bag, realizing that without a saddle, she couldn't carry the bag.

"Damn" She slipped under Caspian's arm and grabbed a saddle from the rack. She was wasting precious time.

She shoved past Caspian and saddled the horse, her agitation growing. She was about to mount when Caspian's hand stopped her again.

"Milady, I can't let you do this, it's too dangerous" Susan rolled her eyes and pushed on his chest. He was about as moveable as a rock.

"At least let me come with you" Caspian tried as she fruitlessly tried to push him away.

"No, you're needed here" Caspian took a step forward so that his face was barely a couple inches away from hers.

"You're just as valuable as I am, at least let me protect you"

That, plus her earlier frustrations pushed susan over the edge.

"Protect me?" Caspian flinched, realizing his mistake.

"I-I only meant that you could use an extra person on your...your venture"

Susan frowned then turned away from him again.

"Get on"


	2. Chapter 2

Caspian grabbed a sword from the rack in the stables, then mounted the horse behind Susan.

"Hold on" She whispered, and it was all her could do to grab her waist before she urged the horse into breakneck speed.

They traveled for a good two hours, then stopped to let the horse rest. By Susan's calculations, they still had about 8 hours left.

"Keep watch, i'll be back" She said to Caspian before grabbing the spare sword she brought and taking off for the ridge about a quarter mile ahead.

Caspian took note of their provisions, just barely enough for the two of them. No matter, they could forage for supplies on their way to their destination.

Wherever THAT was.

He looked around. Susan had been gone for some time now. Maybe he should hide the horse and look for her...

He got his answer when a scream shattered the quiet.

Moving as fast as possible, Caspian pulled the horse behind some bushes, tied it's bridle to a tree, grabbed his sword and ran as fast as he could in the direction Susan had gone.

* * *

Susan knelt on the edge of the small outcrop, viciously struggling against her captor.

Her sword lay off in the bushes somewhere, having been ripped from her hands by the man who was now holding her by the waist and the hair, yanking on both as hard as he could.

A red mark was slowly making it's way across her face from being slapped by the mysterious man, and it stung painfully.

"Scream" The man holding her said. Her only reply was an angry glare that he couldn't see as she kicked backwards, trying to hit him in the knees. For that he slapped her again, and Susan hissed in pain.

"Scream little girl, so that your man will come and save you"

"No one is with me" She spat, gasping as her hair was yanked yet again.

"Well, well. I think you're lying, and for that you will be punished" With that, the man holding her shoved her against a tree and pulled out a dagger, sliding it across her unmarred cheek soft enough not to cut.

Now she was in trouble. Where was Caspian? Susan made up her mind. She would have to scream.

"Scream little girl, so that we can be done with this" Feigning obedience, Susan screamed as hard as she could before kneeing her attacker in the groin.

He doubled over, but still managed to grab her before she could get away.

"Clever ruse, little girl" He growled, shoving her against the tree again, her back grinding into the bark. The man waited for a few seconds, then smirked.

"This does put a little- ah, kink in my plans, but at least I do have some fruit for my labors" He grinned lasciviously at her, and she shivered.

Slowly, meaning to torture her, the man slowly pulled her skirt up to mid-thigh, stroking the flesh there. Susan fought the urge to throw up, and her heart started to race in fear.

He planted a sloppy kiss on her neck, effortlessly brushing her struggles away. Susan felt tears prick her eyes. Where the hell was Caspian? Surely, he heard her scream.

The man moved his hand away from her bare thigh and trailed it up her bodice and to her breast, causing her to wrench her hands out of his grasp and pummel her fists into his chests.

He growled in anger and shoved her into the tree, his hand at her throat.

"Hold still, or I will kill you" Then he pressed his disgusting lips to hers and continued his molestations.

She couldn't hold back the tears now, she was going to be raped here, and Caspian surely would have found her by now. She cursed herself for ever leaving the camp in the first place.

Groaning in pleasure, her captor pried apart her liops and slipped his tongue inside her mouth, causing her to gag violently.

As he pulled away, he smiled in his lustful way.

"This is fun"

He picked up his dagger from the ground and held it to her neck, scratching the sensitive skin with it's sharp blade. He kissed her again.

Then, something hit the side of his face. That something being Caspian's fist.

"You. Bastard" Caspian seethed, pulling the man up by his collar and punching his face again and again until he was reduced to a bloody mess.

Caspian wiped his hand on the other man's jacket and turned just in time to catch Susan as she fell to the ground.

For a moment, Caspian's blood froze. Was she hurt? Did the man succeed in his awful intents for her body?

He swept Susan into his arms and set off back to their make-shift camp, trying not to think about the possibilities.

* * *

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	3. Chapter 3

Slowly, Susan's eyes fluttered open, blinking at the sudden shaft of light that fell on her face. Above her, she could see the canopy of trees, and by the sun's position, she figured that it had been at least an hour since the incident..

Sitting up and looking around, she saw that she was back at the campsite, a fire crackling lightly beside her. Caspian must have carried her back to camp after she passed out.

A twig snapped in the brush off to her right, and Susan's eyes darted around, looking for a weapon. She found a knife that had fallen out of one of the saddlebags, and held it in her hand tightly as the snapping grew louder. Susan raised onto her haunches, poised to spring. The branch nearest to her quivered, and she sprung at the untruder.

Only to be stopped by Caspian's muscled arm as he halted her with a flick of his arm.

"Oh... it's you" Susan said, backing away and wrenching her arm out of his defensive grip.

"Better to be prepared than not" Caspian replied, following her to the fire's edge.

"How long has it been?" Susan asked, referring to the time she had gone to scout.

"I guess about two hours, but it is already beginning to get dark" Caspian replied, looking to the sky overhead that was indeed showing signs of twilight. Susan gritted her teeth.

"Great, that puts us off by another day"

Caspian watched Susan for a moment as she began to pace feverishly around the clearing. She was clearly agitated, but there was something else that was bothering her. Caspian set out to find what it was.

"Milady, are you alright?" His words were soft and full of concern, causing Susan to stop in her tracks and look at the young Prince.

"Y-yes, i'm fine" She replied, transfixed by Caspian's brown eyes. Caspian stood and drew up to his full height, which was a couple inches taller than Susan. He stepped forwards until he was mere inches away, and Susan could smell the sweat and pine on his skin, as well as a Telmarine for of perfume that smelled of spices.

A flush began to creep across Susan's face as Caspian grasped her upper arms, brown eyes still burning into hers.

"What happened between you and that man?" Caspian questioned softly, and he instantly saw in Susan's eyes that he had hit the nail right on the head.

"I-it's nothing, Caspian" Susan replied, casting her eyes downward.

"It must be something" Caspian insisted. Susan's eyes flashed.

"Please, drop this matter" Susan replied, blue eyes pleading. Caspian reluctantly backed down, stepping away to tend the fire. After that, uncomfortable silence drew on as Susan sat against a tree to think, and Caspian cooked their dinner of rabbit meat.

"I'm sorry" Caspian finally broke the silence as they ate their meat, watching Susan warily. Her eyes flicked to his.

"Don't worry about it" She replied, then they slipped into silence again.

* * *

The next morning dawned bright and cold, Waking the Prince and Queen with watery sunlight and grey clouds threatening rain. They packed up quickly after eating a small breakfast of leftover rabbit from the night before, then set off through the forest, Susan walking ahead, and Caspian leading the horse through the trees.

"Milady?" Caspian asked after they had been walking for some time.

"Yes"

"Where are we going?" Susan glanced up at the canopy of trees above them before answering.

"Cair Paraval" She replied, glancing back at the Prince. Caspian hurried forwards so he was walking even with the queen, pulling the reluctant horse behind him.

"But wasn't that destroyed long ago?" He asked.

Susan shook her head.

"We found its ruins when you called us back, I want to find something that's rumored to be in one of the vaults" Caspian nodded in reply, assimilating the information. Silence once again dragged on.

Their silence was broken by something whistling through the air, striking a tree behind Caspian's head. Susan looked over in alarm to find an arrow embedded in the tree's bark where Caspian's head had been only a second before. A rough yell broke through the air, and more arrows came whistling at the pair.

Caspian dropped the horse's reins, pushing Susan forwards in a desperate attempt to protect her from the hail of arrows landing around them.

"Run!" He yelled, and they did, disappearing into the trees, heavy booted feet not far behind them.


End file.
